Felix Rosenqvist Wins Closest Indianapolis 500 in History
INDIANAPOLIS — Felix Rosenqvist won the 110th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday in the closest finish in the race’s 114-year history, edging David Malukas by a mere 0.0233 seconds at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 34-year-old Swedish driver for Meyer Shank Racing capped the most memorable month of his life with a daring outside pass in the final yards, becoming the third Swede to win motorsport’s most prestigious race.
A Historic Margin
Rosenqvist’s margin of victory shattered the previous record of 0.043 seconds set in 1992 by Al Unser Jr. over Scott Goodyear. The 0.0233-second gap — roughly half a car length — came after a chaotic final lap that saw Rosenqvist’s teammate Marcus Armstrong lift to avoid colliding with him, setting up a one-lap shootout for the ages.
“I haven’t seen a finish like that ever,” Rosenqvist told AP News. “So initially, I was like ‘OK, I’m second’ because this never happens, you never have enough time to get that pass. But it happened and it’s just incredible.”
The race featured a record 70 lead changes, reflecting the intensely competitive nature of modern IndyCar racing. Two red flag delays — one for rain at Lap 105 and another for rookie Caio Collet’s hard crash with seven laps to go — punctuated an afternoon of high drama.
A Father’s Victory
The win carried profound personal significance for Rosenqvist, who became a father just 20 days earlier when his daughter Stella was born on May 4. Neither his wife Emille nor their newborn were at the track, but Rosenqvist said the new perspective helped him race with less pressure.
“After we had our baby, Stella, I was like I’ve already won the month of May,” Rosenqvist said. “But winning was the cherry on top of an incredible month.”
He added: “I think somehow this was the first time I felt less (pressure) because I had so much to come home to at night, and I’m like happy. It’s actually kind of nice when taking more pressure off of yourself.”
The Final Lap Drama
The race appeared to be slipping away from Rosenqvist when the final red flag flew for Collet’s crash. On the restart with one lap to go, Malukas — driving for Team Penske — passed leader Marcus Armstrong and appeared poised for victory. Rosenqvist followed, and with Armstrong lifting to avoid a collision, the Swede pulled up behind Malukas and swung to the outside.
“I was given two options: either I lift or I crash with Felix,” Armstrong said. “I chose to lift. I don’t know if I could have done anything different.”
The momentum and aerodynamic tow carried Rosenqvist past Malukas in the closing feet, relegating the 24-year-old American to runner-up status for the second straight year.
“I just don’t know what else we could have done,” a distraught Malukas said. “We were driving 150% that whole time. We had the fastest car out there, loved that whole race. It was ours to win and I knew that, so I just never pushed like that my whole life.”
Key Results and Implications
Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske finished third, followed by Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren in fourth and Marcus Armstrong in fifth. Pole winner Alex Palou, the defending Indy 500 champion, led the most laps (59) but settled for seventh. Palou was later penalized five points for a post-race technical violation described by IndyCar as an assembly error rather than intentional modification.
According to Wikipedia, Rosenqvist’s victory is just his second in 120 career IndyCar starts and his first on an oval. The Swedish driver, who won the 2015 European Formula 3 Championship and claimed the Macau Grand Prix twice, joined Kenny Brack (1999) and Marcus Ericsson (2022) as Swedish winners at Indianapolis.
Meyer Shank Racing earned its second Indianapolis 500 victory, and four-time winner Helio Castroneves celebrated his first win as a team owner. The result also marked a milestone for Rosenqvist’s best friend in racing, Pato O’Ward, who collected his fourth top-five finish in four years at Indy without a win.
What’s Next
The IndyCar Series now moves north for the Detroit Grand Prix next Sunday. For Rosenqvist, the victory cements his place in motorsport history and validates Meyer Shank Racing’s rise as a championship-caliber team. For Malukas, the question becomes how he recovers from a second consecutive runner-up finish that will define the early narrative of his career.
The historic finish is expected to boost IndyCar’s profile and viewership, showcasing the series’ signature event as one of the most compelling spectacles in global motorsports.